I have a little bit of interest in the cold war and some of its hardware – I just could not afford the shipping for the MIG 21 for the backyard so I picked this up instead . . .
Radom P64 – 1975 Vintage
Really decent example of a piece of cold war history. Chambered in 9X18 Makarov and complete with two magazines – one mag even has matching numbers with the Pistol!
Radom claims that they did not copy the Walther PPK – well . . . there is no parts interchangeability – it is chambered in 9X18 – it is fractionally larger – who am I to say whether they did or didn’t – but it is a real neat little piece! To give you a good idea of the size here it is compared to a Glock 17 –
I had to use the last shot – it simply disappears under the Glock!
Breakdown is real simple – hammer back – pull down on the trigger guard – back and up on the slide – and you’re there (just like a Walther)
left side – looks like a Walther . . .
Straight blow back design – double action – single action – decocker – just like a Walther . .
Right side – looks like a Walther
Slide – machining is certainly not up to Walther standards – but it sure goes bang every time!
About the bang thing – the Polish military wanted to use the same round in their service pistol that they were using in their sub machine gun – makes sense – however the specs for the round called for very hard primers – which in turn meant you needed a very heavy hammer spring – double action trigger pull comes in somewhere around 24 pounds – oh my my. However the manual of arms called for the pistol to be carried hammer decocked – safety on -empty chamber – 6 rounds in the magazine. Don’t forget – this was a military and police issue weapon – for the most part it was carried as a symbol – of military rank or police authority (a symbol of power – for the vast majority the civilian populace were totally unarmed).
Ball ammo is readily available – quite a variety – including hollow points and even Hornady Critical Defense!
The PPU 9X18 ball ammo is quite respectable :
muzzle velocity – 1049 fps
muzzle energy – 224 ft lbs
Empty weight
Fully loaded weight
Is it a carry piece? – There are people out there who carry Makarov pistols as well as P64’s – for me not so much – in the case of the P64 decent holsters become an issue as well as the heavy d/a trigger pull – second and subsequent shots are s/a – which is really decent – good defensive ammo is available but the pistol was designed for ball ammo – you read about some feeding issues – I have to say no to carry – but it is a great piece of history and a real blast to shoot – now the P83 (which replaced the P64) is starting to show up in increasing numbers and lower prices (the P83 has been replaced) so I am looking for a decent one at a good price –
Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and Remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!
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